Raising Eco Baby on a Budget, Part 5: Cloth Diapering Basics

Debating whether or not to take the cloth diapering plunge?

Never fear, it’s easier than you might think! Diapers are a major part of having your own little bambino, and they can get a leeeettle bit messy – to say the least. Now that I have two little one’s of my own, I’ve had the chance to discover plenty of great tips and tricks so that cloth diapering your babe is a breeze (well, ‘breeze’ might be overselling it).

Get the Cloth Diapering Lowdown

Why this matters

• Cloth diapering will help you save about $2,500 (and that includes the cost of getting about $500 in cloth diapering supplies!) while doing Ma Earth a big favor.
• Disposable diapers are made from petroleum and include chemicals like bleach, formaldehyde and dioxins. All of these ingredients can cause skin irritation, and formaldehyde and dioxins are known carcinogens (that means they’ve been linked to cancer!) … which means reusable diapers are better for baby’s bum (and health!).
• Opting for cloth diapers will keep 6,000 – 8,000 conventional diapers out of our landfills!

On a personal note

Once we had two in diapers, we found it to be a bit too much (not to mention, we were in the midst of a move so that didn’t help). So we transitioned Sky (baby #1) to Naty biodegradable diapers because he was eating solids and so yeah, um, the diapers are harder to clean, and then gave Adriana (baby #2) the cloth diapers. 

Ready to try?

• Be sure to watch the episode to snag my tried-and-true tips for cloth diapering success.
• Go for a trial program so you can give a wide variety of cloth diapers a test drive before investing in your “diaper stash”.
• Worried about the extra water needed to wash ‘em? A full load of cloth diapers uses the same amount of water as the average shower. And since you won’t be showering as much with the baby (trust me!) it comes out net positive! ha! (It’s about 2-3 extra loads of laundry a week, use the small load setting.)
• Dry your diapers in the sun to save energy and kill any leftover germs, and save some extra moolah while you’re at it!

A Deeper Dig

Cloth Diaper Types:

1) PREFOLD – Like the kind your grandmother probably used. They’re the cheapest and easy to wash, but you’ll definitely need a waterproof shell. 

2) ALL IN ONE – They come with a waterproof shell and a sewn-in liner that makes it easy to clean up everything and then toss it in the wash.

3) ALL IN TWO –  These have a waterproof shell, AND a removable liner, so you can “mix and match” and choose the liner with the absorbency level you need, and just wash the liner, helping to reduce the laundry loads. 

4) POCKET DIAPER –  General consensus is avoid these because they are a bit more cumbersome to use and clean.  

Fresh Pick

Behold! The cutest, eco-ist, best performing diaper from GroVia.

Did You Know?

At least 20 billion disposables are tossed into the landfill every year in the US alone?!